About $4,000 worth of coins are thrown into Rome’s massive, gorgeous Trevi Fountain each day. Making the gesture is said to guarantee your return to Rome.
Now Fendi is throwing a lot more than a few coins into the Trevi’s waters. The Italian fashion house has announced it will hand over $2.9 million to help keep the centuries-old fountain, featured memorably in Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita,” in good shape.
Fendi, founded in Romein 1925, announced the 20-month project Monday along with two of its big-name designers, Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi.
The luxury brand said it will also donate $430,000 to help restore a group of Late Renaissance fountains, the Quattro Fontane, elsewhere in the city. "For Romans, water is inspiration," Fendi said, according to The Associated Press.
The funds will help clean Trevi’s façade and marble statues, replace its gilded Latin inscriptions and re-waterproof the main basin. Fendi's contributions will be noted only by a small plaque to the side of the fountain, company officials said.
Rome has been benefiting from the largesse of fashion companies lately. “The founder of the Tod's footwear company is footing the bill for the (nearly $34 million) restoration of Rome's ancient Colosseum,” the AP said.
Meanwhile, tourists should keep chucking their spare change into the fountain: The coins will continue funding a grocery story for Rome’s neediest residents.
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